Detailing oxidized/little faded paint w PC. Need help Buying products

[butho33]

I am about to Detail my car since to make it shine again. I have been reading around this forums and i learnt many things. My red mr2 is alittle faded/oxidized due to the sun.

However, i need a shopping list. I cant seem to find any here.

Please help me build my list and help me with the waxing process guide.

Initial List

- Porter Cable 7424
- Meguiars car wash ( NXT/Gold Class)
- Microfiber towels.

[Reaper450128]

Everyone's going to have their own brand preferences for the detailing products, but basically I'd say you're going to need a light polish to take off the oxidation. I don't know what you have in the way of polishing pads, but something with a light cutting power is recommended. Without knowing how bad your oxidation is I can't say how aggressive of tools you need. As a fellow red MR2 owner with oxidized paint, I'll list my setup and procedure, using my preferred brands, all of which you can get from Classic Motoring Accessories (I hope I can link here):

Product List:
-Porter Cable 7424 (good choice!)
-Menzerna Auto Shampoo (car wash)
-Menzerna Final Polish II (light polish)
-Menzerna Intensive Polish (more aggressive polish)
-White Polishing Pad (less cutting power)
-Orange Power Pad (more cutting power)
-Some pads with no cutting power
-Meguiar's #34 Final Inspection (pad lubrication/quick detailer)
-Menzerna Finishing Touch Glaze (gloss enhancer)
-Menzerna Full Molecular Jacket (wax/sealant)
-Microfiber wash mitt
-Various Microfiber clothes for cleaning residues and drying the car

To start, wash the and dry the car thoroughly. Next I use some Final Polish II and a white polishing pad on the Porter Cable. I prep the pad with some Final Inspection and apply a small amount of FPII. If after working the selected area there's still oxidation visible, I move up to Intensive Polish and the orange pad, prepped with Final Inspection again, repeating this process with this setup until the area is glossy. For the next two steps I use pads that my supplier no longer carries, but any non-aggressive pads will work for them as well. First I apply the Finishing Touch Glaze to all areas that were polished, then the Full Molecular Jacket.

CMA's website has a lot of helpful information on detailing and specific paint problems, so I'd suggest you check it out for that even if you get your supplies elsewhere.

Just a note, if you've still got the original paint, be careful around the edges of panels where the paint is thinnest. Someone took a circular polisher to my car before I got it and did a number on the mirrors and edges of the raised vents on my engine lid, as well as my trunk badges. Neither of the polishes I mentioned are terribly aggressive, especially when using an orbital buffer like the 7424, but its still something to be careful of. Red wasn't clearcoated on the Mk1/2's to my knowledge (I know mine '91 isn't), so expect red pads when you're done. If you clean them out quickly after use, they should return to their original color. Also, if you can figure out how to get the spots inside the Toyota badges and between the letters on the trunk lid, let me know! Those are the only major trouble spots I've got left!

Hope I haven't gone on too long with this post, detailing is a passion of mine!

[Mike_E_P]

might wanna get claymagic clay bar

[TomsMR2]

people really over recommend clay. its a cleaner, it ONLY cleans. its for removing fall out and sap and dirt. it doesnt NOT remove oxidation or scratches or substitute for compounds. its fine for upkeep, but its not going to fix paint.

id suggest a rotary buffer with a fine cut compound and, and a foam finishing pad with a swirl remover. its more aggressive and cuts faster, but it takes a little more skill to use. you dont need expensive soap, use dish soap. you need to strip the wax, sealant, oils, and everything else off with a good dish soap before you start using the compounds. when you're done you can hit it with dish soap again to strip off all the glaze and junk, and then finish it off with polish and wax. after that you'll need regular car soap.

all of 3M's professional line ROCKS. its expensive as hell though, but it really is awesome stuff. the perfect-it/finess-it products are great. meguires professional line (tan bottles instead of red) work alright too and everyone sells them, but they're definitely not 3M quality.. about 1/3rd the price though on factory red you can kinda get away without a swirl remover, just reuse the fine cut compound with your finishing pad.. on black/dark cars it wont cut it though, they're harder to remove the buff marks (a PC would probably pay off for a black car).

id skip glaze completely. all it does is cover up scratches which you could have otherwise buffed out with your buffer/polisher. it doesnt hide them forever, you'll eventually see them again and wish you just finished them off the first time.

buffing bad paint is a temp fix.. sometimes it lasts for months, but usually not. the oxidation will come back. you can go out and spend hundreds of dollars on top notch stuff only to have the oxidation come back, or spend less than 100 to get very very similar results and have it come back anyway.

[butho33]

THANKS SO MUCH. TomsMR2 and Reaper450128.

i have been looking for those details for so long and now i have found it.